Water management today is faced with new challenges such as climate change or the effects of human activity. Public and private stakeholders who are active in this field must develop new ways to better manage the water cycle "as a whole".
The objective of this MOOC is to develop an understanding of the problems related to water management. Firstly, this course will define a resource and, more specifically, the resource of water. It will look at how water is used and the activities associated with it as well as any potential conflicts. The course will look at water management in detail through the analysis of the different types of rights and obligations associated with, for example, the development of a multi-sectorial regulation system or a watershed management approach.
By the end of this course, our aim is to enable you to:
1) Identify the main issues and strategies linked to water resource management
2) Acquire the key reading material needed to understand the many variables (environmental, institutional and political) which affect water and which, in terms of management, may require adjustment.
This course was developed by the Geneva Water Hub. Alongside researchers from the University of Geneva from a range of faculties, researchers from other universities and research centres will be involved in this course. Practitioners who deal daily with the political dimension of water management will also input into the course.
This MOOC is designed for all those interested in the water sector. Prior training is not necessary to follow our program. The findings presented in this course can be easily reapplied to different contexts and to different scales of analysis.
This MOOC is supported by the Geneva Water Hub and the University of Geneva along with the MOOC in « Ecosystem Services: a Method for Sustainable Development » (www.coursera.org/learn/ecosystem-services) and the one in "International Water Law" (www.coursera.org/learn/droit-eau). This course is funded by the Global Programme Water Initiatives of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
This course is also available in French : www.coursera.org/learn/gestion-eau

From the lesson

Module 1: From Resource Definition to the Ideals of Community Management

Welcome to this MOOC in Water Resources Management and Policy! We look forward to supporting you throughout the duration of the course. In this first module, we will define the concept of a resource. This will help you to understand the various uses and demands that are placed on water. Next, we will address the issues linked to the management of a common good such as water. Here, we will draw on the work of Elinor Ostrom. We will examine several examples of how the commodity is managed: by the state, by industry or by the community. Two cases studies of community water management in Latin America will be presented. The module is concluded by a quiz worth 20% of the final grade. You must have at least 80% of the responses correct to pass the module.